Simple rules for effective customer communications

Times have changed: the economy, the market and the ways you can interact with your customers are all different to how they were ten years, even, five years ago. Which means as a business you must adapt. But one thing that hasn’t changed, is that you need effective communication with your customers. That means getting your message across and promoting your business so they view it in the light you want them to see it in.

The playing field may be different but the rules of the game stay the same. But where do you start?

Let’s begin with your customer.

Tell them what you sell

In any communication with your customers you should highlight the features of the products you sell, and more importantly, what that feature enables them to do.

Customers who have bought a product from you already may still not know about the other products and services you provide unless you tell them, and KEEP telling them. Existing customers who have already bought in to your company, will recommend you (the biggest form of acknowledgement) and buy again if they’re happy. So regular communication can reap real rewards, and don’t be afraid of some repetition.

It’s all about benefits

However, simply describing the features of products or services does not make the communication effective. It’s crucial to put your statements into context. Join the dots for your customer so that they don’t have to. The key is to highlight the benefits that each feature brings as well as how the overall product can make a difference. For example tell them how much money they can expect to save over a number of years by purchasing your product. Empathise with their needs.

And don’t forget to use testimonials from other happy clients, which provide reassurance to potential customers.

Stand out from the crowd

Be different from your competitors. Focus on the top three unique aspects of your business and communicate these to your advantage. Ensure you are consistent and communicate the same messages across all your marketing materials, which reassures people and helps reinforce your message.

Finally, do not underestimate the power of data and the effect it can have on your business. Do you have a database with all customer details? Do you track where enquiries are coming from? However big or small an enquiry, it’s important to establish its point of origination and how it’s handled in your business. Is your database up to date with the correct contact information for each area of interest? If a communication is relevant and timely to your target audience then it’s likely that customers’ engagement will increase. If your database is not as ‘clean’ as it could be, why not take on a student or a temp for a short-term project to do some ‘housekeeping’ on your database?

Remember, the way you communicate with your customers can make a real difference to the way they buy and what they buy.

Want to know more about communicating with your clients?

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